Suction cleaner



y 1951 D. c. GERBER 2,555,231

SUCTION CLEANER- Filed Aug. 21, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTO .Dqle C. Gerber .Iffarn 6y May 29, 1951 D. c. GERBER su'c'uo'u CLEANER Filed Aug 21, .1946

Patented May 29, 1951 SUCTION CLEANER Dale G. Gerber, North Canton, Ohio, assignor to The Hoover Company, North Canton, Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio Application August 21, 1946, Serial No. 691,982

1 Claim. 1 The present invention relates to suction cleaners in general and more particularly to a device for shaking the filter and supporting the cleaner on a supporting surface.

An object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved suction cleaner. Another object is to provide a device for shaking the filter bag to dislodge dirt therefrom and also support the cleaner casing on the supporting surface. A further object is to provide a device for shaking the filter bag wherein the manually operated means is arranged between the cleanersupporting skids. Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following specification and drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section partly in elevation through the cleaner;

Figure 2 is a section along the line 2-2 in Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention showing the front end cap removed and the casing upended into filtercleaning position.

The embodiment of the invention disclosed in Figures 1 and 2 comprises a casing I!) closed at its exhaust end by a cap I having an outlet port l2 adapted to receive the cleaner and of an unshown dusting tool hose provided at its opposite end with a surface-cleaning tool in a manner well known in the art. The suction end of the casing H3 is closed by a removable end cap l4 provided with an inlet port l5 adapted to receive the cleaner end of a dusting tool unit in the same manner as the outlet port l2. End cap I4 is removably attached to the casing ll! by being provided at its lower end with a protruding lip l6 which seats within a socket formed at the end of a bracket l8 mounted on the fiat bottom wall iii of the casing Ill. An overcenter type latch 29 is mounted on the top of the casing l0 and cooperates with the end cap M to force it against the end wall or face 2| of the casing Ill, and a seal 22 prevents leakage of air therebetween. Provided along the top of the casing H1 is a handle 23 of the strap type and provides means by which the operator can lift the cleaner from place to place.

The casing I0 is supported on and spaced from a supporting surface by a pair of runners or skids 24-24, the front ends of which terminate short of the front end wall 2| of the casing l6, and which enable the operator to pull the machine over the supporting surface by means of a force exerted through the dusting tool hose.

Within the casing IEI is a motor 26 supplied with current through an electric cord 21 and has a shaft 28 extending into a fan chamber 29 and carries a pair of rotatable blades 39 separated by fixed guide vanes 3|. The fan chamber 29 is provided with an inlet port 32 and with exhaust ports 33. The motor-fan unit is supported at its forward end by a resilient rubber ring 34 which lies around the forward edge of the fan chamber 29 and is supported by a fixed bulkhead 35 in the casing H). At its opposite end the motor-fan unit is carried by a resilient ring 56 which encircles the motor casing and is carried by a perforated bulkhead 3'! fixedly secured in the casing [9. The forward bulkhead 35 is also perforated and is contoured to provide a shoulder 38 which seats and frictionally retains a perforated cap 39 to form a chamber 40 within which is positioned suitable material to provide a secondary filter.

On the suction side of the motor-fan unit between the bulkhead 35 and the front end cap I4 is the primary filter in form of an air-permeable dirt-filtering bag 4| having an annular side wall 42 and a closed end wall 43, the open end of the bag being securedto a flange 44 which defines a central aperture in the front end plate or ring 2|. The closed end of the bag is secured to a bag ring 45 from the opposite sides of which brackets 45 extend. Arms 41 and 48 are pivotally connected to each bracket 46 and are also pivoted at their lower ends to a base plate 49 which lies along the bottom wall l9 of the casing and is fixedly secured thereto.

The arm 41 is connected below its pivot point 50 to a spring 5| which is attached at its opposite end to the base plate 49, and the spring 5| exerts a force which tends at all times to move the arms 41 and 48 and the closed end wall 43 of the bag 4| rearwardly Within the casing II) to draw the bag taut.

The dirt bag 4| is vibrated by the bag-shaking device indicated generally at 53 and not completely described herein since it is similar to the bag shaker disclosed in the application of Louis E. Segesman, Serial No. 599,147, filed June 13, 1945, now Patent No. 2,498,098. There is a distinction in the present bag-shaking mechanism from that disclosed in the Louis E. Segesman application in that the means for operating the bag shaker comprises a lever 54 arranged exteriorly of the fiat bottom wall I9 and is pivoted thereto at 55. The lever 54 is provided at its opposite end with a foot pedal 56 having a roughened surface 5'! which receives the operators foot to pivot the lever 54 downwardly for actuating the bag-shaking mechanism 53 to remove the dirt from the filter bag 4|.

The bag shaker foot pedal 56 is arranged along the longitudinal axis of the cleaner casing I forwardly of the runners 24-24 and is provided with a fiat surface 58 and an arcuate surface 59 for engagement with a rug to aid the skids 24-24 in supporting the casing l0 above the rug.

When it is desired to clean the filter bag, the end cap I4 is removed by manipulating the latch 20 whereupon the cover pivots outwardly at its upper end to permit the downwardly extending lip |6 on the underside thereof to disengage its socket 1. The cleaner is now open ended and the operator tilts it so that the ring or plate 2| lies flush upon a supporting surface which is preferably provided with a dirt-receiving paper or the like and upon which the end of the bag is facing downwardly to receive the dirt removed from the filter bag.

With the machine so positioned the bag-shaking device described in the aforesaid Louis E. Segesman Patent No. 2,498,098, is operated by repeated depressions of the lever 54 by the operator exerting a force upon the roughened surface 51 of the foot pedal 56 which results in pivotal movement of the lever 54 and the operation of the bag-shaking mechanism 53 within the cleaner casing. After each depression of the foot lever 54 the latter is returned to its normal position by the spring 60 forming part of the bagshaking mechanism 53, and the other spring returns the bag 4| with a snap to its initial taut condition to dislodge the dirt, whereby the latter falls onto the dirt-receiving paper. After the bag has been adequately cleaned the operator need only tilt the machine back to its original operating position, that is, upon the supporting skids 2424 and the foot pedal 58, replace the cover M in the obvious manner and the machine is again ready for cleaning operation.

Figure 3 discloses a hand-operated member for operating the bag-shaking device 53 and comprises an elongated plunger 63 pivotally mounted at 64 in an elongated slot 65 in the lever 54 and is provided at its opposite end adjacent the rear end cap H with a handle 66 for the operators hand. 'The plunger 63 is arranged between the supporting skids 24-24 and slidably mounted along the casing flat bottom wall l9 by a pair of brackets 61.

In order to clean the bag 4| the cleaner casing is upended with the front plate 2| resting upon a dirtreceiving paper as previously described to place the casing 0 in bag-cleaning position with the bag-shaking handle 66 disposed adjacent the top end II of the casing and thus the handle 66 is accessible to the operator at a convenient height. The operator places his hand on the handle 66 and exerts a downward force thereon to move the latter toward the front end 2| of the casing to actuate the lever 54 and thus the bagshaking device 53. When the handle 66 and plunger 63 reach the end of their downward stroke the spring 5| returns the bag 4| with a snap action to its taut condition to dislodge the dirt therefrom and the dirt falls through the flange opening 44 onto the dirt-receiving paper,

Thereafter the operator removes his hand from the handle 66 and the spring 60 returns the plunger 63 and the handle 66 to their initial positions.

If desired, the foot pedal 56 and handle 66 may be actuated together or employed singly to operate the bag-shaking device 53.

It will be perceived that when the casing is in its upended bag-cleaning position the operator can place one hand upon the exhaust end cap II to exert pressure upon the casing I0 and seal the bag ring 2| against the supporting surface to prevent dirt from escaping into the atmosphere, and the operator is also supported by the cleaner casing during the bag-shaking operation, and also bag-shaker handle 66 is disposed at a convenient height for the operator to manipulate the handle.

I claim:

A suction cleaner comprising an elongated casing having a normally closed end and an open end, a removable cap for closing said open end, a filter in said casing and in communication with said open end for removal of dirt, a pair of spaced skid members underlying said casing along one side thereof for supporting said one side of said casing above a floor, filter shaking means connected to said filter and including a spring operable to maintain said filter taut at all times except when said filter is being shaken, means for collapsing said filter in opposition to said spring from the exterior of said casing comprising an elongated operating member underlying said casing side between said pair of skid members, said member extending from a point near said open end of said casing between said spaced skid members to a point near said closed end and having a hand grip at said point near said closed end, means movably supporting said operating member on said casing side for bodily displacement between said skid members in a plane substantially parallel to the axis of said casing, means connecting said operating member to said filter collapsing means whereby said filter shaking 7 means can be actuated by upending said casing onto said open end and manually moving said hand grip and thus said operating member adjacent said closed end of said casing to collapse said filter in opposition to said spring.

DALE C. GERBER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

